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Congress gives Rahul Gandhi power to decide poll alliances

Addressing a press conference today, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the party expects to better its 2004 performance.

Congress gives Rahul Gandhi power to decide poll alliances

(Photo: Twitter/@INCIndia)

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be taking decisions regarding formation of pre-poll and post-poll alliances, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Ashok Gehlot said in New Delhi on Sunday after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting.

“Rahul-ji has been authorised to form election campaign committee and take decisions on pre-poll and post-poll alliance,” the former Chief Minister of Rajasthan said.

Addressing a press conference today, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the party expects to better its 2004 performance.

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“Once Congress party becomes the single largest party touching the same magic figure of 200 or more, naturally the Congress will be leading whoever wants to come and walk hand-in-hand and naturally then the Congress president will be the only face to be projected,” he said.

Surjewala reaffirmed the party’s decision to contest elections under the leadership of 48-year-old Rahul Gandhi.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar expressed confidence in the Congress ideology stating that it is the only force that can defeat the RSS-BJP thought process.

“We believe that Congress party is the one which can fight against thinking of BJP. If RSS has ever lost to someone then it’s the thinking of Congress. With that in mind, we should everyone ahead in order to save Constitution,” Babbar was quoted as saying by ANI.

Targeting the BJP two days after the saffron party defeated the Opposition backed no-confidence motion in Parliament, Surjewala claimed that in some time the BJP will be reduced to just a “Modi Janata Party”.

“I believe in some time only Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will be left in the BJP. Their own leaders will leave the party very soon. There is no Bharatiya Janata Party anymore; there is only Modi Janata Party now,” he said after pointing out the distancing of BJP’s allies such as Shiv Sena and Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Meanwhile, Gandhi said that he is ready for the major challenge – the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“I am fighting bigger fights. Everyone has the right to speak in the party forum but if a party leader gives a wrong statement and weakens this fight, I will not hesitate to take an action,” he said.

When asked to comment on the possible alliances Congress intends to explore, Gandhi said, “We are setting up a group that is going to do that.”

Earlier today, Gandhi chaired the first meeting of the newly-constituted CWC after becoming the party chief. He said that the CWC is a “bridge between the past, present and the future”.

At the meeting, held at Parliament House Annexe, Gandhi said that the Congress is the “voice of India”.

He accused the BJP of ignoring the plight of the poor and urged party workers to “rise and fight for India’s oppressed”.

Top Congress leaders, who were in attendance, said that alliances with other parties will have to be formed to take on the BJP in 2019.

On 17 July, Gandhi constituted the CWC by appointing 23 members and dropping some senior leaders in a bid to strike a balance between age and experience and prepare for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Read More: Rahul accuses BJP of ignoring poor, Sonia says govt’s end has begun

The new faces in the CWC include former chief ministers Oommen Chandy (Kerala), Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka) and Harish Rawat (Uttarakhand).

Prominent among those dropped from the previous CWC include Digvijay Singh, Janardan Dwivedi, Kamal Nath, Sushilkumar Shinde, Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

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